Orientation
Most clients begin with the island, not the apartment. On Al Marjan, that means reading a resort strip mid-build, not a settled address.
Al Marjan Island is four man-made islands, Breeze, Treasure, Dream and View, reaching 4.5 km into the Arabian Gulf across 2.7 million m² of reclaimed land, with 7.8 km of sheltered beach. It was conceived in 2004 under Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi and opened to the public in 2013 (Al Marjan Island official site). What is built today is a working resort strip: five operating hotels, among them Rixos Bab Al Bahr and Movenpick, plus early residential buildings, while large tracts of the island remain active construction sites through at least 2028 (Bayut hotels guide, 2026).
Everything on the island now orients around one project. Wynn Al Marjan Island is a USD 5.1bn, 1,530-room integrated resort holding the UAE’s first commercial gaming licence, awarded in 2024. It topped out at 283 m in December 2025 and targets a spring 2027 opening (Wynn Resorts newsroom, December 2025; Khaleej Times, January 2026). A dense cluster of branded residences is rising around it: Nobu, W, JW Marriott, Address, Fairmont, Mondrian, Nikki Beach, Karl Lagerfeld and Aston Martin among the announced or under-construction projects.
What you get in return for that momentum is a young market with a lot of near-identical stock. Al Marjan is a designated freehold zone, open to buyers of any nationality with full title registered under RAK’s Real Estate Register Law (Law 11 of 2021). The master plan targets more than 8,500 hotel keys and over 18,000 residences at build-out, so today’s roughly 2,300 rooms and handful of finished buildings represent an early stage. We map exactly where the island is in that arc, project by project, before you commit to anything.
- District type
- Resort island, freehold
- Stock
- Off-plan apartments, mostly 1 to 2 bed
- Pace
- Pre-opening, active construction
- Beach access
- Direct, sheltered water
- Daily amenities
- Onshore, about 10 minutes
- Airport
- RAK about 30 minutes
Life here
A resort rhythm, not a neighbourhood one.
The water is calm, the weekdays are quiet, and much of the island is still a site.
The day here keeps a leisure cadence. The coral-shaped layout wraps calm, sheltered swimming water; hotel beach clubs and waterparks set the pace; weekdays are quiet and weekend traffic arrives from Dubai, about an hour away. The three notes below are what buyers should weigh before they picture a life here.
The water
The islands enclose calm, sheltered swimming water, with 7.8 km of beach and resort beach clubs along it. The Movenpick resort runs RAK’s largest floating waterpark. This is the island’s real draw today, ahead of anything the master plan promises.
The everyday
Daily life is onshore. There are no schools or hospitals on the island; supermarkets, a mall and clinics sit around Al Hamra Village, about 10 minutes away by car. The island itself is car-dependent, with a single road connection to the mainland.
The construction
Large parts of the island are building sites, and will be into 2028 and beyond. An early handover means living alongside noise, dust and incomplete public realm. It reads as a resort and investment base first, a settled home much later.
Developments here
A short, honest shelf.
We list a select few developments on the island, the ones we would put a client into ourselves, not a full portal of inventory. All four we currently carry are under construction, which is the reality of Al Marjan today. For everything else, talk to the desk directly.
United Arab Emirates · Ras Al Khaimah · Al Marjan Island
The Astera, Interiors by Aston Martin
The Astera on Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah: a 19-storey beachfront tower of 260 freehold homes with interiors by Aston Martin, from AED 1,870,000, completion December 2028.
United Arab Emirates · Ras Al Khaimah · Al Marjan Island
Pelagia Marjan Island
Pelagia Marjan Island by BNW is a 13-storey tower of 158 freehold homes on Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah. One to four beds, fully furnished, from AED 2.3M. Completion Q4 2027.
United Arab Emirates · Ras Al Khaimah · Al Marjan Island
Aquino Marjan Island
Aquino is a single five-storey BNW building of 29 freehold homes on Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah. One to three beds from AED 1,632,885, about 334,000 pounds. Handover Q2 2027.
United Arab Emirates · Ras Al Khaimah · Al Marjan Island
Aqua Arc Marjan Island
Twin G+12 towers, 226 freehold homes on Al Marjan Island. The broadest of BNW's three projects: 1-bed flats through 2-bed townhouses to 5-bed penthouses. From AED 2.24M (guide ~£459,000). Completion Q3 2027.
Off the listings
Much of the island’s stock is off-plan and moves before it reaches a portal.
Tell us what you are after and we will tell you what is actually available, including allocations and resale that never reach a public listing.
Ask what’s availableA closer reading
How to read Al Marjan Island.
A working brief on the island: how it is organised, what the stock actually is, and the single event the whole case rests on. About 9 minutes.
Reviewed by The Omnia Ras Al Khaimah desk · July 2026
l Marjan Island is not an old address dressed up for sale. It is a reclaimed archipelago barely a decade into public life, and almost everything worth knowing about it flows from that youth and from one building rising at its centre. To read the island is to read a single-catalyst market: a place whose value is a bet on what happens when the UAE’s first casino resort opens its doors in 2027.
The island, and the bet at its centre
The island was conceived in 2004 as a tourism-led diversification play for Ras Al Khaimah. Some 3.5 million m³ of locally quarried rock built four coral-shaped islands reaching 4.5 km into the Gulf, and the development opened to the public in 2013 (Al Marjan Island official history). For its first decade it stayed a quiet resort strip anchored by Rixos Bab Al Bahr, DoubleTree and later Movenpick, with limited residential product.
Everything changed in January 2022, when Wynn Resorts announced a multi-billion-dollar integrated resort. The UAE’s federal gaming regulator then granted the country’s first commercial gaming licence to Wynn Al Marjan Island in 2024, triggering a land rush of branded-residence launches (Wynn Resorts newsroom; Khaleej Times). Marjan, the government-owned master developer, steers the plan and sells plots to third-party developers rather than building itself, targeting over 8,500 hotel keys and 18,000-plus residences at build-out (marjan.ae master plan).
A single-catalyst island. You are not buying a settled address, you are buying what happens when the resort opens.
What you are actually buying
What you buy is almost entirely freehold off-plan apartments in mid-rise and high-rise waterfront towers, heavily weighted to one- and two-bedroom units, with a thin layer of townhouses, sky villas and penthouses. Ready resale stock is scarce because the island is young. Branded residences are the signature product: Aston Martin, Nobu, W, JW Marriott, Address, Fairmont, Mondrian, Nikki Beach and Karl Lagerfeld projects are announced or under construction, typically priced above unbranded towers (Khaleej Times, January 2026).
Payment plans typically run 60/40 or 70/30 with 10 to 20% down, interest-free during construction, and buyers’ funds sit in RAK RERA-supervised escrow under the emirate’s 2023 development decree. Pricing sits at a clear prime level: Al Marjan apartment asking prices averaged about AED 2,645 per sqft in Q1 2026, up roughly 21% year on year (Reliant Surveyors Q1 2026; Khaleej Times, 24 January 2026), well above the emirate-wide valuation average of AED 1,048 per sqft (ValuStrat Price Index, Q1 2026). Those readings are listing-based asking prices, so they run above achieved valuations. We verify against live stock before you form a view.
Where it is going
The hotel pipeline stacks up behind the Wynn: JW Marriott in late 2026, Nobu across 2026 to 2027, the W Hotel in 2027 and Janu by Aman in late 2028, moving the island from about 2,300 keys today toward the planned 8,500-plus (Bayut; wow-rak, 2026). Residential momentum is strong but two-sided. Al Marjan asking prices rose about 21% year on year into Q1 2026 in what analysts call a pre-opening squeeze, yet emirate-wide transaction counts fell about 17% in 2025 even as prices climbed, and roughly 85% of sales are off-plan (Cavendish Maxwell, RAK Residential Market Performance 2025).
Then there is supply. RAK’s completion pipeline steps up from about 1,300 units in 2026 and 1,900 in 2027 to around 5,200 by 2028, a genuine wave that will test rents and resale pricing after the Wynn opens (Cavendish Maxwell 2025; Khaleej Times, January 2026). The structural bet is that the UAE’s first casino resort converts RAK from a value beach market into a global leisure destination. If visitation delivers, today’s entry prices still sit well below prime Dubai waterfront. If it disappoints, the island carries a lot of near-identical off-plan stock arriving at once. Buying now is buying the execution phase, not the rumour.
Who it's for
Start with how you would use the island.
Tell us which sounds like you, and an advisor tailors the guide, the projects and the numbers to your situation.
The second home
A beach base on the Gulf.
A furnished waterfront apartment to use between construction phases, with the Wynn and its beach clubs a few minutes away once open. Handovers here land in 2027 and 2028.
- Waterfront
- Furnished options
- Golden Visa at AED 2m
The investor
A pre-opening position.
Off-plan entry ahead of the 2027 Wynn opening, below prime Dubai waterfront pricing. We are honest about the supply wave landing at the same time as the catalyst.
- Off-plan
- Escrow protected
- Yield view
The brand buyer
A named residence.
The island’s branded cluster, from Aston Martin interiors to hotel-serviced towers, prices above the unbranded towers and carries a resale story of its own. We show what is real versus what is a render.
- Branded
- Serviced
- Resale story
Two minutes
Get a shortlist matched to your brief.
Three to five projects, with pricing, handover dates and an honest read. A person replies, not an autoresponder.
What to know
The practical part, before you look.
Ras Al Khaimah is straightforward to own in, but the market is young and the detail matters. Here is the honest version: what the island trades at, how much of it is off-plan, and why the widely quoted asking prices run above achieved valuations.
Ownership & rules
- Who can own
- Foreign buyers of any nationality can own in designated areas across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates, a framework that has been settled for two decades. Title registers in your own name with the land department of the emirate, the Dubai Land Department in Dubai.
- What you hold
- Freehold title where the building sits inside a designated zone, which covers most of the stock we work with. A few areas grant long leasehold or usufruct instead, so we confirm the tenure on the specific building before you commit, never from the neighbourhood name.
- Residency
- A qualifying property of at least AED 2m can support the ten-year renewable Golden Visa for you and your family, held without an employer sponsor. The threshold held through the April 2026 visa reforms, and mortgaged or off-plan property can now qualify with the lender’s consent. Rules can change, so we confirm the current position before you rely on it.
- Taxes
- A one-off transfer and registration fee on purchase, around 4% in Dubai and lower in some emirates, and that is broadly the headline cost. There is no annual property tax, no personal income tax and no capital gains tax for individuals. Dubai levies a municipal housing fee tied to a home’s rental value.
- Letting
- Long lets register with the emirate, through Ejari in Dubai and Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi. Short lets need a holiday-home permit from the emirate’s tourism authority, and owners can hold one directly in Dubai or let a licensed operator run it. We map which route applies before you bank on rental income.
What it costs to buy
- Al Marjan apartment asking price, up about 21% YoYReliant Surveyors Q1 2026; Khaleej Times, 24 January 2026. Listing-based, so above achieved values
- About AED 2,645 per sqft
- RAK emirate-wide apartment capital value, up 10.3% YoYValuStrat Price Index, RAK Residential, Q1 2026. Prime island stock prices well above this
- AED 1,048 per sqft
- RAK residential transactions in 2025, 85% off-planAbout 6,600 deals, down about 17% from 2024. Cavendish Maxwell, 2025 review
- AED 12.4bn
Rules and figures reflect the framework as last verified in July 2026 and can change, and they vary by emirate. Your advisor confirms the current position, and the tenure of a specific building, before you commit.
Where it sits
On the Gulf, an hour up the coast from Dubai.
- Wynn Al Marjan Island (opening 2027)
- On the island, under 5 minutes
- Al Hamra Mall and Al Hamra Golf Club
- About 10 minutes
- Ras Al Khaimah city centre
- About 25 minutes
- Ras Al Khaimah International Airport
- About 30 minutes
- Dubai International Airport (DXB)
- 60 to 75 minutes off-peak
- Jebel Jais mountain
- 75 to 90 minutes
On the island
- Wynn Al Marjan Island, the UAE’s first integrated gaming resort
- Rixos Bab Al Bahr resort
- Movenpick Resort and its floating waterpark
- Al Hamra Mall and Golf Club, onshore
- 7.8 km of sheltered island beaches
The wider picture
The city
Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah is the UAE’s value beach emirate, an hour up the coast from Dubai, betting on tourism to reposition itself. Al Marjan Island is its flagship off-plan district and the centre of that bet.
Read the city guideThe country
United Arab Emirates
The UAE is open to freehold ownership in designated zones, with a 10-year Golden Visa at AED 2m and no annual property tax. For property in the Emirates, we map the zone rules, the escrow protections and the resale picture before anything else.
Read the market guideFrom the desks
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Frequently asked
Before you enquire.
Can foreign buyers own property outright on Al Marjan Island?
Yes. Al Marjan Island is one of Ras Al Khaimah’s designated freehold zones, open to buyers of all nationalities with full ownership registered under RAK’s Real Estate Register Law (Law 11 of 2021) and overseen by RAK RERA. This is area-specific: outside the designated zones, foreign ownership in RAK is restricted.
What does it cost to buy in, and what are prices doing?
Within our live inventory, one-bedroom apartments at Aquino start around AED 1.6m and at Pelagia and Aqua Arc from roughly AED 2.2m to 2.3m. Area-wide, Al Marjan apartment asking prices averaged about AED 2,645 per sqft in Q1 2026, up roughly 21% year on year, well above the emirate-wide valuation average of AED 1,048 per sqft (ValuStrat Q1 2026), so the island trades at a clear prime level.
Does a purchase here qualify for a UAE Golden Visa?
Property worth AED 2 million or more qualifies the owner to apply for the UAE’s 10-year Golden Visa, and RAK purchases count. Several of our listed units on Al Marjan Island clear that threshold at launch prices. Confirm current federal criteria at the time of purchase, as rules on off-plan and mortgaged property have shifted over time.
How much of the Wynn effect is already in the price?
A good part of it. Prices have climbed since the 2022 announcement and accelerated into 2026 as the resort topped out, which analysts describe as a pre-opening squeeze. The remaining case rests on what happens after opening in 2027: actual visitation, rental demand and the island maturing from construction site to destination. Buying now is buying the execution phase, not the rumour.
What rental return is realistic?
Emirate-wide, RAK apartment rents rose 10.2% in 2025 (Cavendish Maxwell) and portals quote gross yields around 5.5 to 6% on completed island apartments. Most Al Marjan stock, including all four of our listed developments, hands over in 2027 to 2028, so returns today are paper projections. The island’s supply wave lands at the same time as the demand catalyst, which cuts both ways.
Is off-plan buying in Ras Al Khaimah protected?
RAK operates a developer-regulation and escrow regime under RAK RERA, tightened by Decree 12 of 2023: buyer instalments go into supervised escrow accounts tied to construction progress. That mitigates but does not remove delivery risk, so developer track record still matters. Of our listed developers, Dar Global (The Astera) is London-listed with a multi-country pipeline, while BNW Developments is a newer Dubai-based firm with three of the island’s current launches.
Can I live on Al Marjan Island year-round with a family?
Honestly, not comfortably yet. The island is a resort and investment district first: no schools or hospitals on the island itself, daily shopping is 10 minutes away at Al Hamra Mall, and construction will be a fact of life through at least 2028. It works today as a second home, future rental asset or beach base. Families settling in RAK full-time mostly live in Al Hamra Village or Mina Al Arab on the mainland.
Private client advisory, GCC
The Omnia Ras Al Khaimah desk
We start with the island and the single event it turns on, not a unit. On Al Marjan, understanding the timeline is the whole decision.
Start with the area
Let's start with Al Marjan Island, not the apartment.
Tell us how you would use it. We will send the Al Marjan Island guide, the buildings worth seeing, and an honest read on where ownership stands.